Left to right: Ronald S. Lauder, Pope Benedict XVI and   Michael Schneider
	Left to right: Ronald S. Lauder, Pope Benedict XVI and   Michael Schneider
	Left to right: Michael Schneider, Ronald S. Lauder, WJC Deputy Secretary General Maram Stern and Pope   Benedict XVI   photos: l'Osservatore Romano
	Iranian threat: Rome should take a lead in fight  against anti-Semitism, Corriere della Sera, Italy

The President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald S. Lauder, held talks today in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI. It was Lauder’s first meeting with the head of the Catholic Church. He was accompanied WJC Secretary-General Michael Schneider. The talks at the Vatican focused on inter-religious dialogue and on anti-Semitism in a number of European countries. During the private meeting with the Pope, Ronald S. Lauder thanked the Pope for everything he had done for the Jewish people over the past decades. Pope Benedict said that the issue of Catholic-Jewish relations was very close to his heart.

Lauder said that the repeated anti-Semitic statements by the Polish priest Tadeusz Rydzyk, owner of the ultra-conservative Catholic station “Radio Maryja”, should not be tolerated any more. He called on the pontiff to take strong actions against those in the church who wanted to do damage to  the close and positive relationship between Christians and Jews. The WJC leaders also raised the possibility of joint initiatives on social welfare issues in poorer countries. They emphasized the need for working together to further strengthen the relationship between the Jewish people and the Holy See. “We have made such great progress over the last four decades that it should be possible to work even more closely together,” Lauder pointed out. He said that setting-up a dialogue with moderate Muslim countries and leaders was important in order to secure a peaceful future. Ronald Lauder also offered host a joint event in honor of the Pope during the pontiff’s forthcoming visit to the United States of America. The Pope accepted the invitation in principle and said that both sides should work on the arrangements.

On Sunday evening, Lauder and Schneider hosted a dinner attended by a number of cardinals, ambassadors to the Vatican and officials engaged in inter-religious dialogue. In his dinner speech, WJC Secretary-General Michael Schneider referred to dialogue with Islam: “Radical forces intimidate majority adherents of their faith with their credo of death and devastation. Fanatics seek no less than the complete destruction of our Western Judeo-Christian civilization. Shiites fight Sunnis. Brain-washed youngsters are sent to their deaths with promises of Paradise in exchange for martyrdom. And some extremist Mullahs spread poison in their mosques. Yet there are many moderate Muslims who do not support Islamic fanaticism. Indeed they are the majority. Most Muslims are decent, law-abiding people. They have the same aspirations as we do for their families and for their future. We must reach out to them and build tripartite bridges of tolerance and understanding.”

Later today, Lauder and Schneider will meet with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome. They will call on Italy to take a firm stance against the intentions of Iran to develop nuclear capabilities: ” By sponsoring terrorist acts around the world, the regime in Tehran has in the past proved that its threats are more than mere rhetoric. There should be no appeasement of fanatics!”, Ronald S. Lauder wrote in an op-ed published in Sunday’s edition of the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera”.

The following speeches were given at the dinner with Vatican representatives and the Italian Jewish Commnity:

President of the World Jewish Congress Amb. Ronald S. Lauder

Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress Michael Schneider

Claudia De Benedetti, Board Member of the "Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane"